Latitudinal features of Total Electron Content over the African and European longitude sector following the St. Patrick’s day storm of 2015

GNSS TEC values have been obtained from 18 stations distributed from the magnetic equator to nearly 80°N magnetic dip in the African and west-European longitude sector corresponding to the March 17–18, 2015 geomagnetic storm. Significantly depleted ionosphere have been observed at stations north of 50°N geographic on March 18, 2015 following the above storm over a longitude swath 11.9°–21°E covering the Eastern Africa and Western European longitude sector. High ROTI values were noted on March 17^th at locations around 80°N magnetic dip. Two prominent peaks in PCN were noted around 09:00 UT and 14:00 UT on March 17, 2015 and around 15:00 UT on March 18, 2015. Daytime thermospheric (O/N₂) ratio was markedly less on March 18th at latitudes above 60°N geographic which is suggested to be the major driver behind depleted high latitude ionosphere during the recovery phase of the storm on March 18, 2015.     

Solar Energetic Particle Charge States: An Overview

The ionic charge distributions of solar energetic particles (SEP) as observed in interplanetary space provide fundamental information about the origin of these particles, and the acceleration and propagation processes at the Sun and in interplanetary space. In this paper we review the measurements of ionic charge states of energetic particles in interplanetary space and discuss their implication for our understanding of SEP sources, and acceleration and propagation processes.     

外商直接投资与我国东西部经济增长关系的实证研究

运用协整检验理论,利用1985-2006年的数据,对外商直接投资与我国东西部经济增长关系进行了定量分析。结果表明,东、西部的外商直接投资与经济增长之间存在长期稳定的均衡关系。东部地区外商直接投资对经济增长的贡献弹性高于西部地区,表明外商直接投资导致东西部经济增长差距扩大的因素之一,未来西部地区应加大吸引外资的力度,提升对外开放水平。     

Meteor radar temperatures over Collm (51.3°N, 13°E)

The method of obtaining absolute temperature estimates by measuring the ambipolar diffusion coefficient with meteor radars in the mesopause region is basically well known. However, there is still a need to refine and adjust the background temperature gradient model which is necessary to calculate the temperature values. Therefore, a detailed comparison with independent temperature measurements is necessary to evaluate the performance of the method and to obtain more information about the temperature gradient. Recent studies provide some evidence that the impact of the gradient model on temperature estimates affects the absolute temperatures, but that it is of minor importance for wave analysis. This paper focuses on a detailed evaluation of the meteor radar temperatures by comparing them with SABER satellite and OH-emission mesopause region temperatures. The seasonal variation of the observed temperatures is well reproduced by the COMMA general circulation model.     

中层顶区钠层化学反应寿命的初步研究

利用本征值和本征矢量的分析方法，对钠层的光化学反应的寿命进行了研究，结果表明，利用该方法计算出的钠原子的化学寿命与传统理论有所不同．从而证明了在中层顶区，钠层的中上部的扰动主要受大气动力学过程的影响，钠层底部主要由光化学控制．这为利用钠层作为示踪剂研究中层顶大气动力学的理论提供了理论依据．     

Evidence of change after 2001 in the seasonal behaviour of the mesopause region from airglow data at El Leoncito

Airglow intensities and rotational temperatures of the OH(6-2) and O₂b(0-1) bands acquired at El Leoncito (32°S, 69°W) provide good annual coverage in 1998–2002, 2006, and 2007, with between 192 and 311 nights of observation per year. These data can therefore be used to derive the seasonal variations during each of these seven years, in airglow brightness and temperatures at altitudes of 87 and 95 km. From 1998 to 2001, seasonal variations are similar enough so that they can be well represented by a mean climatology, for each parameter. On the other hand, these climatologies do not agree with what is usually observed at other sites, maybe due to the particular orographic conditions at El Leoncito. With respect to the last three fully documented years (2002, 2006, and 2007), the similarity from year to year deteriorates, and there are greater differences in the seasonal behaviour, more or less in all the parameters. The differences include, e.g., maxima occurring earlier or later than “normal”, by one or two months. All this may suggest the build-up of a new regime of intraseasonal variability, with a possible relationship to corresponding changes in wave activity.     

重力波对中层顶区光化加热的影响

计算了重力波过程对光化加热的影响,并研究了不同温度背景及不同氧原子的背景分析对该过程的影响,计算表明重力波可以造成中层顶光反应加热的损失。     

The Milky Way 3-Helium Abundance

We are making precise determinations of the abundance of the light isotope of helium, ³He. The ³He abundance in Milky Way sources impacts stellar evolution, chemical evolution, and cosmology. The abundance of ³He is derived from measurements of the hyperfine transition of ³He⁺ which has a rest wavelength of 3.46 cm (8.665 GHz). As with all the light elements, the present interstellar ³He abundance results from a combination of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBNS) and stellar nucleosynthesis. We are measuring the ³He abundance in Milky Way H ii regions and planetary nebulae (PNe). The source sample is currently comprised of 60 H ii regions and 12 PNe. H ii regions are examples of zero-age objects that are young relative to the age of the Galaxy. Therefore their abundances chronicle the results of billions of years of Galactic chemical evolution. PNe probe material that has been ejected from low-mass (M≤ 2M _⊙) to intermediate-mass (M∼2–5M _⊙) stars to be further processed by future stellar generations. Because the Milky Way ISM is optically thin at centimeter wavelengths, our source sample probes a larger volume of the Galactic disk than does any other light element tracer of Galactic chemical evolution. The sources in our sample possess a wide range of physical properties (including object type, size, temperature, excitation, etc.). The ³He abundances we derive have led to what has been called “The ³He Problem”.     

基于MSER的无人机图像建筑区域提取

对建筑区域自动检测与提取是无人机(UAV,Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)图像处理的一项重要功能.在分析无人机成像特点和最大稳定极值区域(MSER,Maximum Stable Extremal Regions)算法对无人机侦察图像建筑区域检测的适用性基础上,提出了一种基于MSER的无人机侦察图像建筑区域提取算法.算法包含5步:无人机图像预处理,运用MSER算法分析计算图像稳定区域,通过计算稳定区域密度筛选建筑区域,进一步利用自适应K均值聚类算法对建筑区进行划分,最后采用Graham算法生成建筑区的边界从而实现了建筑区的自动提取.选取无人机实飞图像数据进行实验统计,本算法提取精度为92.25%;同时与基于Gabor变换的纹理特征、SIFT特征点的提取算法相比,建筑区域提取时间缩短,满足无人机实时应用需求.      

Report of the COSPAR mars special regions colloquium

In this paper we present the findings of a COSPAR Mars Special Regions Colloquium held in Rome in 2007. We review and discuss the definition of Mars Special Regions, the physical parameters used to define Mars Special Regions, and physical features on Mars that can be interpreted as Mars Special Regions. We conclude that any region experiencing temperatures > −25 °C for a few hours a year and a water activity > 0.5 can potentially allow the replication of terrestrial microorganisms. Physical features on Mars that can be interpreted as meeting these conditions constitute a Mars Special Region. Based on current knowledge of the martian environment and the conservative nature of planetary protection, the following features constitute Mars Special regions: Gullies and bright streaks associated with them, pasted-on terrain, deep subsurface, dark streaks only on a case-by-case basis, others to be determined. The parameter definition and the associated list of physical features should be re-evaluated on a regular basis.